


Bruises and Butterflies

by Anonymous



Category: Maidens of Mayhem
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, Dungeons & Dragons Campaign, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, wrote this for my friend's birthday
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-21
Updated: 2021-02-21
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:09:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29610600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Vesper gets hurt after the Heehoo hunt
Relationships: Jesper - Relationship, Vesper Aurvandall/Jillisandra Joyce
Collections: Anonymous





	Bruises and Butterflies

“Aw, isn’t that nice Vesper?”

Alessandra’s eyes lock on to Vesper’s, the mismatched tones insinuating much more than her words let on. Of course Alessandra would push something like this, in their short time together, Vesper knew she wasn’t one to let go of something so easily. Especially something she, for some reason, seemed to be so concerned with.

She takes a deep breath and wills the need to feel her fist meet flesh to melt away before replying.

“Yeah Alessandra”, She pauses, trying desperately to look anywhere but the centaur next to her, “real nice”

She gets a smug look on her face that Vesper would give anything to wipe off. Clear memories of that night in Fowndall flash into her mind. She knew she should have been more careful with Isabel, covered her tracks so her still sort of new companions didn’t follow her. But what would it matter if they all died the next day. None of them knew exactly what help the king had wanted, and as far as anyone was concerned, it could be their last night. Who’s not to indulge a little?

But she needs to stay in the present, she focuses on the discordant twang of the satyr musician’s instrument, the loud voice of one of the head centaurs booming over the crowd. Soon enough, Nemmy and Tulip are being called up, along with three other hunters, their weapons replaced with toy-like replicas as the rules are announced.

The wait isn’t long until they’re called up again to begin the hunt, but of course Tulip manages to go off to the young satyr beforehand. Alessandra and Vesper share a look before the former slinks off, trying to glean as much intention out of the lad as possible. It’s not very successful, but with some encouragement from Jilly, it seems like he’s not going to be another Cypress.

Hooves stomp as the hunters set off into the woods, and soon the trio is left to their own devices, the rest of the centaurs going off to continue the celebration. Jilly seems lost in thought when Vesper catches the councilwoman from the night before talking to another centaur, this one clothed in a white peasant top and black vest, short hair pulled into spikes on their head.

She glances over at Alessandra and knows that she’s seeing the same thing. 

Nudging Jilly, the three look on as the look on the councilwoman’s face darkens, her eyebrows knitting together before she hushes the other and starts walking away. Alessandra begins to sneak towards them, Vesper slapping a hand on her shoulder and turning her invisible just before she’s out of sight.

Vesper tries to keep an eye out for her, and almost jumps out of her skin when Jilly talks next to her.

“Oh, I didn’t even see her leave!”

She scrambles for a response, “Oh! Alessandra started not feeling too well and she had to go… you know…” It’s a pretty lame excuse, but it’ll have to do.

Jilly smiles, “Oh, of course of course, nature calls and all that”

Vesper breathes out, not wanting to step on her toes, or rather hooves, especially when her, and the town of Skerra, has been so nice to them.

“I wonder what all that was about though”, the smile falls a little from her face as she looks in the direction the two centaurs had disappeared, “I don’t know, when Caressa makes a face like that I get a little concerned.”

This was new, and if Jilly was worried, the pit in Vesper’s stomach that convinced her everything was about to go wrong, only seemed to grow.

“Do you think something went wrong with the hunt?”, it made her sick, thinking that something had already gone wrong minutes after the start.

Jilly considers it, “No, I don’t think it’s that. I don’t think I told y’all that a little while ago, Caressa owns the winery you see, there was some talk about an employee going missing. But, no one really knew much about it, I just kind of drew my own conclusions. It’s right on the edge of the woods and I thought someone got taken off by a wild animal, you know that happens sometimes. It’s just sort of strange no one really acknowledged it, and now that she ran off with that look on her face, I get a little worried sometimes. She’s usually real composed.”

This doesn’t settle the bile rising in her throat, and she can barely get out a nod before glancing in Alessandra’s direction. She subconsciously takes a step closer to Jilly, too preoccupied with the thoughts running wild in her head to notice the hand that settles on her shoulder.

It’s sort of awkward until Alessandra gets back, the two chatting idly as they wait. Vesper can barely hold eye contact, thoughts of something happening to anyone in her party mixed with the fact that Alessandra keeps trying to push the two of them together. It wasn’t like she hadn’t thought of it. Jilly was more than kind enough to not only cart a handful of strangers to town, but open her home to them. She was also pretty and- was she really that easy? Did all a girl have to be was pretty and kind and Vesper was hooked? 

She blankly smiles at the story Jilly is recounting, even though the words fall on deaf ears as Vesper tries to quiet the newly formed butterflies in her stomach.

Alessandra returns, and after a brief conversation with Caressa and Amaranth, the centaur who had approached her, they’re off on a wild “Heehoo” hunt. Whatever that might mean, they’re sure they’ll find out.

Vesper’s leaning up against Alessandra as they make their way back, she hadn’t known what to expect, but it certainly wasn’t whatever that was. It didn’t help that her armor didn’t let her move swiftly or stealthily. She grimaces as she’s placed on a bench in Jilly’s tent, but it’s nice to be off of her feet.

She looks over at Alessandra, “Go wait for Nemmy and Tulip, I’ll join you in a bit”

Alessandra hesitates, worry etched across her face, before nodding and setting off to be there for when their two hunters return.

Vesper lets out a sigh when she leaves and starts taking off her armor, wincing as she tugs on the leather straps. She almost wishes she hadn’t used all of her magic for the others, but she couldn’t live with herself if she hadn’t. 

She looks away as Jilly kneels in front of her and gently takes her arm, deft fingers carefully working on the buckles of her bracer. A flush grows her her chest and creeps towards her face.

“You know you could’ve taken me up on that offer of a ride right?”

It’s not accusatory, Jilly never seemed to be. But the quiet words do nothing but quicken the heat spreading across her cheeks.

“Yeah, I know”.

She could have accepted the ride, especially after almost crushing her kneecap, it had been very tempting, but she couldn’t bring herself to it. It had too many implications she’s not even sure were really there. Not that her armor being taken off piece by piece was any different. At least Alessandra wasn’t here. If she had seen any of this, she knows she would never let her live it down.

Jilly’s to her grieves now, and Vesper winces as she gently tugs on the first strap. The centaur looks up at her, searching for confirmation to continue. It takes everything in Vesper not to laugh as she nods. Of course she would ask for permission even when she’s helping. She swallows the butterflies and grits her teeth as Jilly works as quickly as possible.

The armor is off and Vesper finds she can finally meet her gaze as Jilly stands up and gives her the once over.

“I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for us, especially for something that’s usually my job”

Jilly smiles, a somewhat mischievous glint in her eyes as she moves over to the herbs she keeps.

“Don’t be thanking me just yet, this next part might not be that fun. But I am gonna need you to strip, no use putting something on if you’re not clean”

Vesper swallows thickly, the breath dying in her throat. But Jilly doesn’t seem to notice as she grinds some rather fragrant flowers, humming a soft tune.

Alessandra would kill to be here.

And Vesper would kill her if she was here.

She fumbles with the straps of her gambeson, not wanting to know what she would do if she didn’t comply. Jilly seemed nice enough, but that patience could be wearing thin. She’s just gotten the last buckle undone when Jilly moves to the flap of the tent, pausing as she leaves.

“I’ll be right back, stay put you hear?”

Before she’s outside, the sound of her hooves fading as she walks away.

Vesper takes off her shirt, examining the bruises blossoming across her stomach and chest, reds and blues and purples mixing to form a galaxy trailing down to her left hip and further. She flinches at the thought of having to take off her breeches. 

She steels her nerves and begins to peel them off, holding off tears as she rolls it over her left knee. The joint now twice as large as its counterpart, splotches of bruise painting it a deep painful purple. She tries to draw on her healing magic, to make herself look less pitiful. But nothing happens as she touches the injured leg but a jolt of pain.

The midafternoon air is warm on her skin and she can feel the sweat roll down her back, mixing with the dirt and grime from days on the road.

She curls into herself, wanting nothing more than to be back at the church, a hot bath waiting for her.

But she has a duty.

She looks up as the tent flap opens again, to find Jilly ducking through, a bucket of steaming water in her hand. She’s suddenly self-conscious, thinking of things she can cover herself with. It’s a weird feeling, as she’s typically confident in herself. But she doesn’t dwell on it as Jilly pays her embarrassment no mind and places herself in front of her again, damp cloth in hand.

“You know I can clean myself up yeah?”, she says, trying to preserve some of her dignity.

Jilly smiles again, and Vesper feels lost in it, “Yeah, I know. But then I wouldn’t get to do this”

The washcloth is warm against her shoulder, and she leans into the touch, closing her eyes, but not before she catches what looks like a faint tint to her cheeks. Yeah she could bathe herself, but maybe this was better. It feels like a blissful eternity as the warm cloth passes over her body, loosening the tight muscles and relaxing her rigid posture. Wiping away the dirt of the road. It had been a long time since anyone had done this for her.

She shivers as the warm water turns lukewarm, chills spreading up her arms.

“Alright, last thing now”, she stands up and gathers whatever she had been mixing on the counter as well as a roll of bandages, “You have another pair of clothes right? Cuz I don’t think anything we have is gonna fit you”

Vesper laughs, imagining herself in a very oversized shirt. It couldn’t be the worst possible thing.

“Now this might sting a little bit, let me know okay?”

Vesper nods, trying not to watch as Jilly applies a salve to her bruises, but she can’t help it. The cream stings a but as it touches her skin, but immediately cools the area. She can’t help but sigh in relief, her heart rate slowing as she works diligently, salve, clean hands, bandage, repeat. She doesn’t look up as she does it, but Vesper can swear the blush is still there.

All too soon, her body’s bandaged, Jilly’s mixture already working it’s own magic. The centaur is giving her a final once over when she holds up a finger.

“Oh, hold on missed a spot”

She leans over, face close enough to make Vesper’s breath catch in her throat. She gently cups her face with one hand and Vesper’s pulse skyrockets, her brain short-circuiting. Her other hand comes up to spread the last bit of cream over her eyebrow, her thumb moving in small circles. 

She swallows past the lump in her throat.

“Hey Jilly?”

The centaur hums as she uses her other hand to brush her bangs back into place.

It was now or never.

“Can I”... She falters, trying to pick her confidence up off the floor, “Can I kis-”

Before the words are even out of her mouth, Jilly leans forward and brings their mouths together. It’s short and sweet and Vesper can’t help but notice that she tastes of wine. It’s everything she had imagined Jilly to be like, and she can’t help but smile as they pull apart, leaning their foreheads together.

Yeah, Alessandra would never let her live this down.


End file.
